Stoke boss Mark Hughes told the club's official website: "Giannelli is a good young player. He has great power, good ability on the ball and a great range of passing and there's no doubt he will add to the quality that we already have at the club.

"He played against us in preseason and although I was already aware of him, seeing him at first hand resonated with me."

Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes added: "Giannelli is a player we have been trailing for some time and we are delighted to have concluded a deal to sign him.

"At one stage it looked unlikely that we would be able to get the deal over the line but things accelerated quickly earlier today and Giannelli is really excited about the prospect of playing in the Premier League with us."